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Bringing Back Hope | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

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You can turn with me to 1st Peter chapter 1.
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1st Peter chapter 1. And Cami mentioned that
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we're going to be in Pittsfield tonight. I have
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been for the last three or four years on some
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Sunday nights going to different churches and
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ministering. And at the beginning of the year
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I felt the Lord tell me to lay that down. and
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that he would launch me back when it was his
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time. And so I did not pursue it and have not
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done anything like that for quite a few months.
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And then about a month ago, I got five different
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calls for ministry. And I said, I think the Lord
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is opening up the door for ministry again. And
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it seems like, Every time that we have gathered
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together. In fact, I posted this on my Facebook
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page Every time recently that we have gathered
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together Whether it be a one -on -one meeting
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or whether it be a small group The seniors had
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an amazing small group time at the Cubatz home
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How many seniors were there and it would say
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wow look what God did? God is doing something
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unique In every gathering that we come to, God
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presences Himself in a unique way. We thought
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we were done, didn't we, last Wednesday? We thought
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we were done and the Holy Spirit just showed
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up. And as the joy of the Lord was coming on
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different ones, there were declarations that
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were being made and We sing the song he's gonna
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do it again this morning. He'll do it again breakthrough
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God is bringing breakthrough to people in their
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walk with Jesus God is touching people. He's
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awakening things inside of people God is using
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national events even to awaken desire for God
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in people. I'm getting testimonies of people
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saying, you know, I've had this Bible in the
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back of my shelf for years, and now I'm picking
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it up and I'm starting to read it. And that's
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not to bring condemnation if you have not been
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doing those things, but God is awakening in the
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hearts of people. Amen? We are seeing it happen
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Nationally, we are seeing it happen We are seeing
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it happen on a local level and we are believing
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God That he is gonna give us not only our city,
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but this entire region in Jesus name this morning
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another missionary that was driving on his way
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to Bloomington felt led of the Lord to stop in
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here And he hasn't stopped, he's a missionary.
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He preached here in 2015, hasn't been here in
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10 years. And I had him close us in prayer. And
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you know what he prayed? He prayed that God would
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release a prophetic and an apostolic anointing
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on this house. And he said, God, give them this
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city and God, give them this region. And he has
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I've never shared with him my heart for ministry
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that God called us to to raise up a local church
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and to partner with people around the region
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that are seeing God's kingdom move forward. Amen.
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And so that's what we're doing. And we're and
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we're watching God work and it's powerful and
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it's wonderful. People are being healed. physically.
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Talking to different ones that have received
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emotional breakthrough in their life. Freedom
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from fear and anxieties. God is doing an incredible
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work and we're believing for more. We're believing
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for more. God has breakthrough for your family.
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Amen? God has breakthrough for your family. I
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don't know how much of this I'm going to get
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through this morning. I want to just start in
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1 Peter chapter 1 because I believe that God
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has something to speak to us. And this might
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be a different kind of a message for you this
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morning. I might preach it in a way that I don't
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normally preach in. But I believe that God is
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going to speak to us powerfully To the pilgrims
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of the dispersion in Pontus Galatia Cappadocia
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Asia Bithynia elect according to the foreknowledge
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of God the Father in sanctification of the spirit
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for obedience and sprinkling the blood of Jesus
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Christ. Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
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Father I want to thank you for your word this
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morning and I ask God that you would just apply
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it to each one of our hearts. I ask God that
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your word that that penetrates and goes in deep
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would change us and shape us and make us and
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mold us. God I have no power to to change a life
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but you do. The anointing that is upon your word
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as it's being preached. God is powerful and I
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ask God that you would just Speak to each one
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of us today in Jesus name Amen Peter starts out
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by using language pilgrims of the dispersion
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This is language that the Jewish people although
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he's not just writing to Jewish people But that
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they would that they would know about they had
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been called pilgrims of the dispersion Psalm
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147 verse 2 the Lord builds up Jerusalem he gathers
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the outcasts of Israel that's talking about the
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pilgrims of the dispersion Isaiah 1112, he will
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set up a banner for the nations and he will assemble
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the outcasts of Israel and gather together the
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dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the
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earth. Some of you were alive when Israel first
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reclaimed their land in the nation of Israel.
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God is fulfilling his promise, those that are
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dispersed. But he is not just talking about those
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that were dispersed physically, although they
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were in Acts chapter five. He's talking about
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those that are outcasts, those that society has
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written off. In fact, the religious people in
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Jesus' day, this is a lot later than many, this
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is many decades later, but the religious people
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in Jesus' day had written many people off that
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Jesus focused his ministry on. He came not to
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buddy up with those that already thought that
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they were righteous. But Jesus came to seek and
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save those that were lost and those that had
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been rejected as impossibles Jesus brought them
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near those that had been dispersed We like it
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when people come into our church and they're
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already polished and they're already Looking
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good and hey, here's somebody that that that
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can fit right in But how many of you know that
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God is not just looking for those that already
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have the the Bible memorized from cover to cover
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God is looking for those that everybody else
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overlooks and and and stares right past and says
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and says no not this one but God does not say
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no not this one God says draw near to me come
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on I'm choosing you for my team And so Peter
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opens up and he says, the pilgrims of the dispersion,
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the outcasts, all the people that nobody wanted
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in Pontus and Galatia and Cappadocia and Asia
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and Bithynia, you are now not outcasts, you are
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now elect according to the foreknowledge of God
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the Father, hallelujah. You are now sanctified.
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Glory to God, that means that you are now washed.
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hallelujah and that you have right standing with
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God he called you for sanctification of the spirit
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he called you for obedience amen I'm thinking
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of John chapter eight. I'm thinking of the woman
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that was caught in adultery. A woman that they
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were ready to stone. A woman that certainly nobody,
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none of the religious leaders would ever think
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could do any good. But Jesus looked at that woman
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and said, go and sin no more. Do you know what?
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He was giving her the ability to overcome her
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prostitution and overcome all of the garbage
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of the past and she could too. become a new creation
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in Christ and walk with God. Hallelujah. Obedience.
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People that you look at and say they are far
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from obedience. But God says, you can walk with
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me. Sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
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the twofold work of the cross that forgives us
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of our sin and heals our broken body according
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to Isaiah chapter 53 by his stripes we are healed
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and God has called us that this term sprinkling
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of the blood it means that you walk in the power
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of God And when you pray over people, sometimes,
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in fact, if you grew up with me in the late 80s,
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and I was fortunate to be surrounded with great
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men of God that knew how to pray, and they knew
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how to seek God. And so here I was a young teenager
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and I would listen to these men of God pray,
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but it wasn't just the words that they said,
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it was the interaction that they had with God.
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Isn't that what discipleship really is all about?
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Being able to see with your eyes and hear with
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your ears. And so I was brand new in my faith,
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but I would go to the prayer meetings and I would
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listen to my pastor and he had a deep voice and
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he would say, hallelujah. He would just he was
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just be in the corner and he would just be saying
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hallelujah And It wasn't the words that he said
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or how they said them but I could tell that he
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was fellowshiping With with God and he carried
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an anointing that I wanted to carry And many
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times I would hear these great men and women
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of God say this, Lord, we plead the blood of
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Jesus. Over this one that needs healing how many
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of you ever heard that term before? Plead the
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blood of Jesus. Well, it's similar to this straight
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out of the scriptures sprinkling the blood of
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Jesus and and Peter is saying you were you were
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once an outcast but now you have the authority
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to pray with power to Sprinkle the blood of Jesus
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everywhere you go to pray over people that the
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same the same blood that Jesus shed that cleansed
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and washed you of your sin, the same blood that
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healed you, you can sprinkle the blood, you can
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pray the power of that blood over everybody.
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Hallelujah. And so you were once an outcast,
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but now you're used mightily of God to see miracles
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happening wherever you go. Grace and peace be
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multiplied to you. He goes on and and I Might
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not get past this next section here. I intended
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to preach clear down through chapter 2 As long
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as I preach good you'll sit there and listen,
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right? Blessed be the God and father of our Lord
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Jesus Christ Who according to his abundant mercy
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has begotten us again to a living hope through
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the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
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to an inheritance in corruptible and Undefiled
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and that does not fade away Reserved in heaven
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for you who are kept by the power of God through
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faith for salvation Ready to be revealed the
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last time glory to God The word that came forth
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this morning and that many of you responded to
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was a confirmation to me of the scripture that
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God wanted me to preach and I want in fact, I
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prayed over a couple of you that God would restore
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hope to your life Hope about things that you
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have given up about. Hope to walk in health again.
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Hope to be used by God in a ministry again. Hope
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to see some things that he's whispered in your
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spirit and now you're at the point where you're
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saying, well I'm just not sure if that dream
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was really from God or not. But God wants to
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put hope back in your life amen and This phrase
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that's in verse 5. There's so much in here, but
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let me skip to verse 5 we are of those who are
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kept by the power of God Amen now I read This
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morning a story that captivated me It is the
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story of a man named Larry Walters Larry Walters
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in 1982 Thought that he could use some Hot air
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balloons some small ones many to raise himself
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up in his backyard and He blew up 42 small hot
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air balloons with helium and He sat in the chair
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thinking he would go five or ten feet in the
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air and He cut the rope He was a truck driver
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and they nicknamed him lawn chair Larry Because
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when he cut the rope that held him to the weight
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He began to rise in his lawn chair Now he wasn't
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complete he wasn't completely Christian he brought
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two things with him He had a pistol and a beer.
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And his lawn chair began to rise. Begin to rise.
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And lawn chair Larry rose. 16 ,000 feet over
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his city, no seatbelt. This is July 2nd, 1982,
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over San Pedro, California. And when he got so
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high, he thought, How am I gonna get down and
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he began to shoot balloons The flight lasted
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45 minutes He interrupted flight patterns as
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as me is major airlines Picked him up on their
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radar and had to alter their path On the way
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down He entangled in power lines and caused a
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blackout in Long Beach, California He was not
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seriously injured and was fined by the Federal
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Aviation Administration for violating aviation
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regulations. His flight became a media sensation.
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He inspired movies, a musical, and holds the
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Guinness World Record for lawn chair flight.
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Larry Walters I Read that story and I thought
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that story is sermon worthy Because I was picturing
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myself 16 ,000 feet somebody figure out how many
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How far that is up in kilometers or miles? Somebody
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pull your phone out and figure that out for me
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Three miles I can't even imagine. Now I went
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up in a balloon one time for Balloon Fest. Me
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and my son traveled up and we got up so high
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and it wasn't near this high and we could not
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hear a thing. It was still, it was magical. How
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many of you have been up in a balloon before?
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And you know what I'm talking about. And you
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know what I thought when I was up there? There
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is nothing holding me from my death except for
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this platform, this high, this basket that we
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are standing in. And I found myself kind of knuckling
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the rope behind me like this is nerve wracking.
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And I begin to imagine myself as I'm reading
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this story. of me sitting in a lawn chair three
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miles above the earth with nothing keeping me.
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Nothing keeping me, it's making some of you nauseous
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even as you're sitting right there in your chair.
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I remember when we went to the Sears Tower, it's
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now called the Willis Tower, I have trouble calling
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it that. Chicago and we went up to the hundred
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and third floor and on the hundred and third
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floor they have a glass walkout and you that
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have been there know that even though you know
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in your mind that you're gonna be okay that stepping
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out onto that glass walkout it feels it gives
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you a sensation that is a little bit disconcerting
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And even I, I'm not afraid of heights at all,
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but here I am standing over 103 stories looking
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down over Chicago. How many of you have stood
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on that platform before? Some of you have been
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there before. And you get a little bit disconcerted.
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And you can start to picture what it's like,
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what it might be like if you had nothing. keeping
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you. Nothing keeping you. This morning in your
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spiritual walk some of you have felt like nothing
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is keeping me. I'm kind of interested in God,
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but I don't know if I can trust Him again. I'm
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kind of pressing in, but if I put all my eggs
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in one basket, is He going to do it? I want to
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bring the simple message confirming the word
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that was already spoken this morning That the
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same God That brought you here today The same
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God that really has been working in your life
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all along you haven't recognized it so much But
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God has been working in your life every step
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of the way friend He has been there He grieved
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with you silently although you didn't hear him
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He he he protected you and that car wreck He
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was there With his hand on your life when when
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you weren't even thinking about him He has been
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more faithful to you than ever you realize And
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I want to declare to you today that you can trust
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Him with your life to bring you all the way through
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to the end. Some of you see obstacles that you're
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facing and can I tell you between now and the
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end you are gonna face a lot more obstacles than
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the ones you're facing now. It's just the truth
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that in this world we will have trouble. But
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I want to elevate this morning your level of
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Trust in a God that is never going to leave you
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and he is never going to forsake you He is going
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to walk with you every step of the way You are
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kept by the power of God Amen You are not kept
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by the power of a pastor Isn't that good news?
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Because I fail people all the time But there
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is one that I try my best Feebly though it might
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be to represent there is one that I represent
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Who will never fail you? He will never leave
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you. He will never forsake you glory to God You
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are kept by the power God. Whoo! I feel the anointing
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in this place right now because there are some
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there is some thinking in your mind that needs
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to crumble. God is able to keep you. Some of
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you have just overcome addiction and you've thought
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well I've overcome this addiction before but
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and so what is different now? What's different
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now is that you're gonna trust in the God that
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is able to keep you from falling Hallelujah,
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let me read a couple of other scriptures to you
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right now Thank You Father glory to God John
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chapter 10 verse 27 says this my sheep Any sheep
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out there if you're a sheep go That was kind
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of weak. We need to do that again. Ready? That
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was awesome! My sheep hear my voice and I know
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them and they follow me. I give them eternal
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life and they shall never perish neither shall
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anyone say anyone neither shall anyone snatch
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them out of my hand my father who has given them
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to me is greater than all and no one is able
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to snatch them out of my father's hand I and
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my Father are one. Glory to God. Now do I believe
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that somebody can choose to walk away from God
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and deny the faith? We see that even in the Bible.
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Paul discipled people that then turned and walked
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away from God. That's true. You can walk away
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from God. But friend, nobody. that is after the
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heart of God. Nobody that comes before the Lord
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and say, God, I'm doing my best to follow after
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you. Nobody that is a sincere believer that is
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coming after Jesus. Nobody, nobody will ever
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be taken out of the Father's hand that is after
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the heart of God. Hallelujah. You are secure
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in your salvation. Well, Pastor, I messed up
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last week. Pastor, I messed up last week. I sinned.
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I sinned. Friend, the Bible says this, that the
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righteous may fall seven times, but this is what
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the righteous do. The righteous get up again.
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They get up again and they keep on going. And
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so if you're one of those sheep, guess what?
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You've been made righteous by the blood of the
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lamb. That does not mean you've been made perfect
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yet. You are being perfected and you do grow
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from glory to glory. We're watching people's
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lives transform as they're set free from sin.
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Right? I want to thank God. Let me give you a
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statistic from Barna Research Group. Four years
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ago, 55 % of adults in the United States said
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that they had a relationship with Jesus that
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was meaningful to them. 55%. Now, how many of
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those are actually born again and following Christ?
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I don't know. But 55 % that was down from 2003
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which was 87 % 87 % down to 55 % in a matter
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of years that does that tell you the direction
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that our nation is heading? Well, let me give
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you some hope because four years later that number
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has rebounded to 67 % two -thirds Now that does
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not mean that they're all born again But they
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have some kind of knowledge of Jesus that is
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meaningful to them Among but but let me give
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you a statistic now that that is not so good
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61 % of Christians Are addicted to pornography
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61 % on a weekly that's a weekly or daily basis
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61 % Jesus came to set captives free We you know
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you wonder why industries grow the way that they
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do is because of the sin of mankind. You wonder
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why we don't have revival yet. Friends, it's
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coming. It's coming. I'm not trying to be a wet
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blanket. What I am calling us to is to be kept
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by the power of God. Because you're kept by the
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power of God, you can overcome. I'm through the
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introduction of my sermon, I'm not going to preach
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the whole thing tonight, this morning. And so
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in conclusion, what we are watching, what we
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are watching is God setting captives free. And
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God exercising, keeping power, right? Not snatched
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out. I love the passage in Jude. It's a praise
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to God. Now to Him who is able to keep you from
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stumbling and to present you faultless before
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the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.
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Now I often wonder, well, who there gets the
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exceeding joy? Is it Jesus that is presenting
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us before the Father? And is it Jesus that has
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the joy in doing so? Or is it us that as we are
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presented, we have exceeding joy? I believe it's
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both. believe it's both that that Jesus is looking
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forward one day to present you to the Father
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and say hey this one this one that this one's
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come through a lot but this one was kept by the
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power of God here he is father here she is father
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they made it to the end hallelujah This is a
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verse that every that maybe this is the one we
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memorize from next week Jude Just one chapter
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in Jude verse 24 now to him who is able to keep
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you from stumbling and To present you faultless
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before the presence of his glory with exceeding
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joy To God our Savior who alone is wise be glory
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and majesty Dominion and power both now and forever
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Amen Amen. Amen. Can I say this? Most people
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that are addicted to pornography wish they weren't
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because the conscience and the conviction of
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the Holy Spirit and the shame, they're just tired
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of it. It destroys. Every part of your being
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it destroys marriages It destroys families and
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that's just one addiction How am I gonna face
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it pastor Because you're gonna look to your mountain
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you're gonna look to your sin that that secret
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sin Whatever it might be God is applying this
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to everybody and You're gonna look at that thing
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and you're gonna stare it down and you're gonna
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say I have a Jesus in my life. That's bigger
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than you and The Jesus that's in my life According
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to Titus has taught me to say no to ungodliness
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and worldly passions and pleasures this Jesus
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is able to keep me from stumbling and walking
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the wrong direction hallelujah whoo glory to
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God And so some of you this morning, you're gonna
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take this into your prayer closet and you're
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gonna say, God, I thank you for the power that
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you've given me to overcome. It's not power for
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tomorrow, but it is strength for today. To deliver
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me according to the Lord's prayer, you taught
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us to pray. God, deliver us from the evil one
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and deliver us from temptation. In the name of
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Jesus, you help us to overcome, hallelujah. You
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can overcome that eating addiction. You can overcome
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that lazy addiction. You can overcome that spending
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addiction. You can overcome any enemy of the
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cross so that God God's work can happen in your
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life. Where does it start? It starts with the
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most beautiful word in the Bible, repent. Repent.
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If we confess our sins, He's faithful and just
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not to not to just forgive us of our sin but
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to cleanse us from it to get it out of our life
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Amen I'm gonna stop right here because I believe
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that God wants to work in some people. I'm gonna
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ask if the worship team would come You've got
38:08
some overcoming to do but you're not alone in
38:12
it You've got some overcoming to do you're not
38:17
alone in it because there's people right in this
38:19
room that have been right where you're at Addicted
38:23
to the same thing you're addicted to But Jesus
38:28
set them free and now they're walking in power
38:31
And so repentance is a word that's celebrated
38:37
it's it's Do I feel repentance? Yeah, sometimes
38:42
it feels like godly sorrow Because it's that
38:45
sin that put Jesus on the cross Right that sin
38:52
put Jesus on the cross And we feel that God I'm
38:58
sorry But it's a beautiful word because it's
39:02
the first step that you take Toward God when
39:06
he comes running toward you And you say God set
39:12
me free What do I need to repent of? Anything
39:20
in my life where I've strayed that doesn't line
39:24
up with God's Word. If you're a new believer
39:27
in the house, there might be things in the Bible
39:31
that you're not aware of yet. Where your life
39:34
isn't completely lined up yet. I want you to
39:40
know that God is patient with you. And He is
39:44
going to lead you as you grow. In fact, the second
39:48
part of this message that I'll preach next time
39:50
I have an opportunity is about how to do that,
39:56
how to grow. And it comes down to this, to feeding
40:01
on the milk of the Word, giving yourself to prayer,
40:08
and getting involved with a local church body.
40:12
Having others around you. It's simple. But repentance
40:19
is the beginning. You're coming to the one that
40:23
can keep you. You're just confessing your need
40:27
for Him. And you're saying, Lord, I just put
40:32
myself in Your hands. Will You forgive me? Will
40:36
You wash me? If you've never come to Christ,
40:43
That's the first step. But how many Christians
40:49
in here after you came to Christ still needed
40:53
to repent? Linda's laughing down here. She must
40:58
have needed to repent a lot. Jesus wants a bride.
41:11
That's the church, the bride. The bride of Christ
41:14
is the church. He's the groom. He wants a bride
41:21
that is clean and pure. Clean and pure. And that's
41:30
how I want to be. When I go the wrong direction,
41:34
I want the Holy Spirit to show me. so that I
41:39
can go the right direction. Father, all across
41:45
this room you are working, you are speaking to
41:51
hearts, you are convicting, but you're also assuring
41:59
that you will keep your people. And so God, I
42:10
pray that you would help us to have the courage
42:16
to respond. And so Lord, all over this place,
42:26
as Holy Spirit is convicting people, I just pray
42:33
that you would work your work. If you're here
42:39
this morning, and you're saying, Pastor, I need
42:42
forgiveness. I need to repent. All over this
42:49
place, on the count of three, I'm just gonna
42:52
ask you to stand. By standing, you're just saying,
43:00
the Holy Spirit's speaking to me, drawing me
43:02
closer to Him. showing me an area of my life
43:06
that hasn't been right with Him. And I need to
43:10
get that area of my life right with Him. On the
43:20
count of three, stand. One, two, three. Just
43:24
stand up all over this room. Come on. Come on.
43:26
Don't wait for the next person. Come on. Come
43:30
on. Come on. Come on. I'll give you a moment.
43:35
Come on. Take heart. Take courage. Take courage.
43:40
And ask all of you that are standing. This is
43:44
what we call the altar area. The altar is a place
43:49
of worship. It's not just a place to repent,
43:51
but it is a place to just come before the Lord
43:55
and lay that thing down. So I want to invite
44:01
you that are standing to come down to the front
44:03
And just say Jesus here. I am he loves you so
44:07
much He's here for you. Come on come down to
44:12
the front. We're gonna pray together We're gonna
44:15
pray together This walk that you make it's just
44:19
an act. It's an action of repentance Thank you,
44:23
Lord Thank you, Lord It might be the way you
44:28
spoke to somebody It might be the thought that
44:31
you thought about somebody. It might be something
44:37
that others, if they knew, would say, that is
44:40
huge. But it isn't about everybody else. It's
44:45
about you and Jesus. Those of you that are up
44:50
here at the altar right now, I just want you
44:52
to begin to pray, just you and the Lord. Just
44:55
close your eyes. Close your eyes and say Jesus
44:59
will you forgive me? Jesus will you wash me?
45:04
Just confess your need For him to you might even
45:09
speak to that thing pornography get out of my
45:11
life in the name of Jesus I belong to the Lord
45:15
You might speak to that thing Addiction you do
45:21
not have me anymore I belong to Jesus. God, I
45:30
thank You for Your power operating around these
45:33
altars right now in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah.
45:38
I thank You, Father, for people from every generation
45:41
responding to the work of the Lord, responding
45:44
to what You're doing in their lives right now
45:47
in Jesus' name. things that when they came in
45:50
this room were not right with God. But when they
45:53
leave, we're going to stay here at the altar
45:55
in the name of Jesus. Father, we thank you for
45:59
the shed blood of Jesus Christ. God, I ask that
46:04
right now that there would be a washing and a
46:06
cleansing over this house. Hallelujah. God, I
46:10
pray that you would cleanse from the mind to
46:13
the spirit, God, all through the soul in the
46:16
name of Jesus. We look to the cross right now.
46:20
We look to the blood of the lamb and we say,
46:24
Jesus, wash me. Jesus, wash me. Jesus, wash me.
46:29
Jesus, wash me. Jesus, wash me. Oh my God, my
46:34
God, my God. Would you wash your sons and daughters
46:37
right now around this altar in the name of Jesus.
46:41
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Oh my God,
46:45
my God, my God. Jesus Jesus Jesus come on just
46:51
lift your hands to the Lord right now and just
46:53
receive from him receive from the Lord right
46:56
now a touch from heaven glory to God he loves
47:00
you he loves you he loves you he loves you in
47:05
Jesus name we thank you father hallelujah hallelujah
47:09
hallelujah hallelujah I want you to agree with
48:55
me in this prayer. In fact, just pray it with
49:02
me. Lord, this morning I thank you for washing
49:07
and cleansing me. I thank you for removing my
49:14
sin and nailing it to the cross. I thank you
49:23
for forgiving me. I break the power of shame.
49:33
And I embrace the power of Jesus. I thank you
49:40
Lord for freedom. I thank you Lord for victory.
49:48
I thank you that you've chosen me. I thank you
49:53
that you've made me your elect. I thank you that
49:58
you've empowered me to walk in obedience. In
50:06
Jesus' name. In Jesus' name. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
50:17
Thank you Father. Thank you Father. God's doing
50:22
a work around this altar right now. Jesus. Jesus.
50:30
Jesus. Lord, I want to lift up the men that are
50:33
up here at the altar right now. I want to thank
50:37
you Lord Jesus for men that are sensitive to
50:42
your spirit. Lord, for generations women have
50:46
carried the church in sensitivity to you. But
50:50
I thank you for men also that are sensitive to
50:55
the Holy Spirit, for young men that are sensitive
50:59
to the Holy Spirit, that are leading the way
51:02
and saying, God, I want to walk in right relationship
51:05
with Jesus. I've allowed things in, but no more.
51:10
I'm drawing a line. I'm moving forward in Jesus'
51:16
name. Hallelujah. Now look at me for a moment.
51:21
Some of you are up here for simple things and
51:24
you've felt God's touch and that's the end of
51:26
it. But some of you are gonna need a brother
51:32
or a sister to specifically agree with you in
51:36
prayer, for you to overcome. There are some things
51:41
that God just removes from our lives. When I
51:45
gave my life to Jesus, I was delivered from swearing
51:49
instantly. I have not sworn since the time I
51:53
was 13. I'm 52. 39 years. God has kept my, it
51:59
doesn't mean that everything that I've said is
52:01
sanctified, but the swearing part has not been
52:04
a part of me and God just took it away. But there
52:08
were other things in my life that I needed to
52:11
go to somebody. I remember going to my youth
52:15
pastor. because of sexual sins. They were what
52:21
some might consider to be very minor. But for
52:24
me, they were holding my relationship with Jesus
52:27
back. And I had to go to my youth pastor as a
52:31
young man. And I wept. In fact, I wept and my
52:35
youth pastor laughed. And he said, I'm laughing
52:38
because you think you're the only one that's
52:40
ever been in this place. But he prayed over me
52:46
and he broke the power of that thing and it was
52:49
gone. Some of you have things that you need somebody
52:53
to agree with you about. And I want to encourage
52:58
you to not be afraid to make the phone call to
53:04
set up the meeting. They're not gonna blab all
53:09
of your stuff all over the world. You know, later
53:12
on, it's just going to become part of your testimony.
53:15
And you're going to actually be able to help
53:18
others that overcome the very thing that you're
53:21
wrestling with. And you're not going to be ashamed
53:26
of it anymore because you're going to see, I'm
53:28
helping others get free. But for now, you need
53:33
to go to somebody. And you need to say, brother,
53:36
will you pray with me? Sister, will you pray
53:40
with me? And it can be a trusted man or woman
53:43
of God. It doesn't have to be Pastor Cammie or
53:46
myself. But we are here for you. And you can
53:52
come all the way through to freedom. Amen. Let's
53:58
give the Lord praise this morning for what He's
54:01
doing. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord.
54:06
Thank you, Lord. Just take the hand of the person
54:09
next to you right now. take the hand of the person
54:11
next to you and I want you to just pray over
54:14
them and I want you to pray God's blessing over
54:17
the person on your right and on your left and
54:19
just say God will you give victory to my brother
54:22
to my sister in the name of Jesus give victory
54:26
to my brother to my sister in the name of Jesus
54:29
that we can walk in victory in this place hallelujah
54:32
hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah oh my God my
54:36
God we thank you Father we give you praise we
54:40
give you praise you are good hallelujah lord
54:46
oh we love you lord god is good god is good just
55:05
one final encouragement eventually And hopefully
55:09
immediately you will never need to repent for
55:12
this same thing again. But God will put his finger
55:17
on something else in your life. And you'll have
55:21
to come to the altar again. And I want you to
55:24
know that that's what believers do. They follow
55:28
Jesus. They're becoming more and more and more
55:31
like him. And so he's dealing with one thing
55:34
and then next week he might deal with another
55:37
thing. And that's okay. How many of you say,
55:41
Jesus, make me more like you? Repentance is a
55:45
good thing. Jesus, make me more like you. Amen.
55:51
Give somebody a hug before you go. Bless somebody.
55:55
In Jesus' name, thank you for being here today.